


Sami Wilson and the Winter Soldier

by peter_romanoff



Series: Sami Wilson [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/F, Flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peter_romanoff/pseuds/peter_romanoff
Summary: Sami Wilson thought she had missed her chance when the Air Force shut down her field tests. But when Captain America needs help, she seizes the opportunity to become what she was always meant to be: a hero.Or, Sam Wilson and his sister save the world, and Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers are very grateful.
Relationships: Natasha Romanov (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Sam Wilson (Marvel) & Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Sami Wilson [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806862
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

_Washington, D.C._

Steve jogged along the road at what felt like an easy pace -- not too slow, but not too hard, either. He was gaining on the people in front of him, a girl and a guy, both African-American. "On your left," he called.

He went around for a lap, then came to the same pair outside the Jefferson Memorial. "On your left."

"Uh-huh, on my left. Got it," the man huffed. Steve felt the woman's eyes on him as he passed them.

As Steve finished his lap and approached them for the third time, the woman looked over her shoulder, then leaned in to the man. "Here he comes again." She probably didn't mean for Steve to hear, but he couldn't help his superhuman senses.

Steve fell in stride with the pair. He opened his mouth -- "Don't say it! Don't you say it!" warned the man.

Steve smirked. "On your left!" He sped up, leaving them behind.

"Come on!" Exasperated, the man began to sprint, trying in vain to catch up to Steve. The woman followed, slower, and watched as her brother ran out of steam. She clapped him on the shoulder.

"Nice try."

* * *

After finishing his run, Steve spotted the pair sitting under a tree, clearly exhausted. "Need a medic?" he offered.

The woman laughed. "I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes."

Steve smiled. "I guess I got a late start."

"Oh, really?" The man asked sarcastically. "You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap." He paused. "Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it." The woman laughed and bumped him with her shoulder; he gave her a push her in return.

"What unit you with?" Steve asks. There's something about the pair of them -- the way they carry themselves, their camaraderie -- that comes off as military to him.

"58, Pararescue," the woman says. "'cept now he's abandoned me for the VA."

"And does he have a name?" Steve asked, proffering his hands.

"Sam Wilson," the man said as he used Steve's hand to hoist himself up.

"And I'm Sami, with an 'i'," the woman said. "Our parents weren't too creative."

"Steve Rogers."

Sam laughed. "I kind of put that together. Must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

Sami elbowed him. "Rude!" she reprimanded.

Steve put his hand up. "No, it's okay. It...takes some getting used to." That seemed like the most polite way to explain the situation to strangers. Still, he didn't particularly want to go into details about what it feels like to lose your whole life, everything and everyone you've ever known. "It's good to meet you two." He turned to walk away.

Sam hesitated. He regretted his hasty words; clearly, the supersoldier wasn't as adjusted as Sam had thought. He felt empathy, though, because he knew what it was like to come home after serving, and have everything be different. Maybe not exactly the same, but close enough. "It's your bed, right?"

Steve stopped, and turned back. "What's that?"

"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I'd sleep on the ground and use rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like..."

"Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor." Steve shook his head.

Sami smiled. "That's exactly it. First week I got home, I slept on the floor."

Sam snorted. "First month, more like." Sami gave him a shove.

"How long'd you guys serve?" Steve asked.

"I did three tours before they moved me to the lab. Baby brother here decided to join me for the last two."

Sam smirked. "Only 'cause you missed me so much." He turned to Steve. "Bet you miss the good old days, huh?"

"Well, things aren't so bad." Steve began counting points on his fingers. "Food's a lot better, we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up."

"Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble Man" soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed into one album." Sam nodded sagely.

"I'll put it on the list." Steve pulled out a little notebook and pen, which looked puny in his huge hand.

"And while you're at it -- check out Back to the Future. A cinematic masterpiece." Steve added that, too, while Sam gave his sister an incredulous look.

Just then, Steve's cell phone vibrated. _Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb. :)_

"Alright Sam, Sami, duty calls. Thanks for the run -- if that's what you want to call running." Steve smirked.

Sami put her hands on her hips. "Oh, that's how it is?"

"Oh, that's how it is." Steve winked; Sam laughed.

"Okay. Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."

"And if you ever need tech support or a non-asshole engineering genius -- I'm your gal."

"I'll keep it in mind." Did Steve just make friends? Friends not connected with SHIELD or Nick Fury, that aren't superheroes? _Nice._

One of those superheroes pulled up to the curb in what seemed to be a very nice car. The window rolled down to reveal Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow herself. Sort of the opposite of Steve's new friends.

Natasha pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, making it clear that she was giving the siblings a good, long look. "Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

Sami let out a snort. Steve was not so amused. "That's hilarious," he deadpanned. As Steve got in the car, Sam gave both the car and the redhead an appreciative once-over. He let out a low whistle, too quiet for anyone but his sister to hear.

"How you doing?" he asked Natasha, turning up the charm.

"Hey," she said, ostensibly in reply to him, but her cool gaze remained fixed on Sami. Natasha raised an eyebrow at the other woman, like, _get a load of this joker_ , then lowered her sunglasses back onto her face.

"Can't run everywhere," Steve offered in explanation.

"No, you can't," Sam agreed. He watched as Natasha rolled up the tinted window and drove off.

The siblings stood there for a moment. Then:

"That was Black Widow!!" Sami exclaimed.

Sam stayed stolid. "Yup. And Captain America."

"Wow wow wow!" Sami grinned. It was infectious; Sam couldn't help himself. He grinned too. "Awesome."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a time skip here, but the unwritten events follow the movie.

After hiding his Captain America suit (and, more importantly, its enclosed tracking chip) in some poor guy's gym bag, Steve returned to the hospital where Fury died. Conscious of the fact that he was now a fugitive, he pulled the hood of his jacket a little lower on his face.

When he saw the machine, he thought he must be in the wrong place. There was no gum at all in this machine. He paused to remember -- _it was on the first floor, right?_ \-- when Natasha's gum-chewing reflection appeared in the vending machine glass. She blew and popped a bubble obnoxiously.

Steve was filled with rage. The flash drive undoubtedly held valuable information; it was Nick Fury's parting gift. Remembering the secrets she had kept from him on the Lemurian Star, he had to wonder: had she betrayed him? Whose side was she on?

Angrily, he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into a nearby room. He pressed her up against the wall. She didn't resist, which was somehow worse that then alternative. Steve craved action.

"Where is it?" he demanded.

"Safe," she replied coolly.

"Do better!" he hissed.

She arched one eyebrow. "Where did you get it?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"Fury gave it to you," she stated. She could tell from the way he tensed that her guess was correct. "Why?"

"What's on it?" Steve pressed.

"I don't know."

Steve smacked the wall above her head. "Stop lying!" Only years of training kept Natasha from starting at the sound. Something had made Steve mad, madder than she'd seen him before.

"I only act like I know everything, Rogers," she said softly. She hoped her joking tone and the use of his name would remind him of their friendship.

Steve sneered. It wasn't a good look on his all-American face. "I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?"

"Well, it makes sense," Natasha reasoned. "The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you." She spoke evenly, matter-of-factly, but her subtle accusation set Steve off again.

"I'm not gonna ask you again," he threatened. In another situation, she would have rolled her eyes -- the Black Widow is more than just a pretty face -- but here and now, she let her fear of the supersoldier to show on her face.

She allowed herself to tremble slightly, knowing that Steve could feel it (he was forcing her against the wall awfully hard), then stilled, as if she were steeling herself. "I know who killed Fury," she said. "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

"So he's a ghost story." Steve's derision was clear.

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me." The last sentence was delivered so straightforwardly that it took Steve a second to realize why she was pulling up the hem of her shirt.

Sure enough, the right side of her tanned, toned stomach was marred by a nasty scar. "Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis."

"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now," Steve snarked. Natasha gave a ghost of a smile -- flirty, but not overtly. His joke suggested that she'd earned his trust. Not completely, but enough for him to allow her to accompany him on this quest to find Fury's killer.

"Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried." The trap was set (Steve could never resist an impossible task) and she laid the bait, holding the silver flash drive up where he could see it.

His eyes looked to the right, enough to recognize the flash drive as Fury's, then back to Natasha. She could sense the pull he felt towards the information, the mission ahead. "Like you said, he's a ghost story." A slight prod, just enough to unite them against a common enemy.

"Well, let's find out what the ghost wants." Steve took the flash drive from her hand and backed away from her, studying the foreign device. "We need a computer, right?"

She smiled. No flash drives in the 1940s. "Not just any computer. Fury --" She almost choked on the name of her mentor. "He would have protected it. High-level encryption, and probably a homing program."

Steve just raised an eyebrow. "Which means?"

"It means that unless we plug that drive into a government computer, SHIELD will know where we are. And you don't want that, do you?" Steve didn't react to her barb, which was telling in and of itself. "It'll be keyed to be read by Fury only, but a good enough tech wizard could pick the lock, so to speak."

"You must have hacker contacts," Steve said. "Stark could do it."

She shook her head. "SHIELD knows my contacts. Once they find out I've gone rogue, they'll be ready for me to reach out. They'll be watching the asshole, too."

Steve furrowed his brow. Calling Tony Stark an asshole... where had he heard that recently? " _If you ever need tech support or a non-asshole engineering genius -- I'm your gal."_

He beamed. "I think I might know someone."

* * *

Sami arrived home from work to find her brother sitting on the comfy chair, which was not unusual. What was unusual was the fact that Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff were sitting on the couch.

She blinked. _Nope, still there._

"You're late," Sam accused.

"Traffic was hell," she replied. "Some sort of manhunt going on. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that?" The question was directed at the superheros, who crossed their arms defensively. It was amusing how in sync they were, but Sami realized now was not the time to bring it up.

"You wouldn't happen to have access to Fort Meade?" Natasha countered.

Sami raised an eyebrow at her brother. "Glad to hear you're spilling state secrets."

He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Extenuating circumstances!"

"While I trust your judgment, I do expect the full story at some point this evening." She turned to the couple on the couch. "What do you want with the wings?"

Steve looked at Natasha, then back to Sami, quizzical. "What wings?" Natasha shrugged in confusion.

Sam swore. "Nice going, sis." She grimaced.

"Forget I said that. I think I need the full story first."

Steve did most of talking. He relayed some details to the Wilsons that Natasha hadn't known, in spite of all her resources. His anger at the hospital made more sense; he had expected her to turn on him. Sami chimed in to ask clarifying questions, while Sam added the occasional quip.

"...and so I thought you could do it," Steve concluded. "I hope my faith isn't misplaced."

Sami was already nodding. "Dude, yes. Of course I'll help on your super-secret vigilante mission." Natasha actually chuckled.

Sami looked to her brother. An unspoken agreement was reached. "But we want in," she said, and went into the other room.

Steve protested vehemently. "I can't ask you to get involved, Sam. You got out for a good reason."

Sam laughed. "Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in. Plus, you think I'm gonna let my big sister have all the fun?"

Steve looked to Natasha. "We could use the help," she admitted. She could see that he already liked the pair, and her instincts agreed, though she remained aloof.

Sami returned, carrying two manila file folders and a stack of photos -- some framed, some loose. "What's this?" Natasha asked, accepting the pile.

"Consider it our resume."

Natasha picked up the pictures, flipping through the photos until she landed on one of the Wilsons and their team. "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you guys." Her voice contained a tone of respect. To Steve, she accused, "You didn't say they were para-rescue."

Steve looked at another photo, focused on a man who was next to Sam in every picture. "Is this Riley?" Sam nodded.

"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs." It was rare that Natasha Romanoff was stumped. Her intrigue was clear. "What did you use, a stealth chute?"

Sami laughed. "Not exactly." She opened one file to reveal blueprints for a pair of wings, large enough to fit a person. The bottom corner read Project Egret: Patent by Sami Wilson.

"I thought you said you were pilots," Steve accused.

Sam shrugged. "I never said pilot."

Steve and Natasha looked through more of the file's contents, pausing to examine how the wings could be used in combat. The photos showed four testers -- Sami, Sam, Riley, and a blonde woman. The file also contained the report of Riley's death.

Satisfied that the new members of their little group were competent, Steve leaned back, stretching his arms out (Natasha moved one from around her shoulders). "Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"You're in luck," Sami said, smiling. "Fort Meade has a hard-line to SHIELD, a complete Egret suit, and the beta version of the newest Falcon wings."

Steve smiled broadly, crossing his arms. "So what's the play?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I love feedback and validation :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are heating up!

_Fort Meade, 11pm_

"Remember, just follow my lead," Natasha whispered. She adjusted her blue evening gown, then latched on to Sami's arm. "Oh, Ms. Wilson," she simpered, "you're so smart!"

A little unsteady, Sami held open the lobby door for Natasha. She, too, was dressed to the nines in her dress uniform. "I've told you, call me Sami."

The couple slowly crossed the empty lobby, Natasha's empty giggles bounced among the marble pillars. Just as they reached the elevator doors, a voice rang out. "Ms. Wilson? Is that you?"

Sami swore. "Oh, my mistake!" she called. She led Natasha (who seemed to be hanging on her more and more) over to a desk in the very corner of the room.

Behind a brown marble counter sat an overweight, middle-aged white man. Balding, what hair he had was long and shaggy. A protective instinct rose up within Sami as he ogled the plunging neckline of Natasha's dress. She pulled the other woman closer, wrapping her arm around the redhead's waist.

"Aaron!" Sami said brightly, remembering too late she was supposed to be slurring her words slightly. "How are you, my good sir?"

Aaron managed to peel his lecherous gaze away from Natasha's chest long enough to respond. "Can't complain, can't complain. What are you doing here with this fine young woman?"

Sami leaned in conspiratorially, still holding tight to Natasha's waist. "I thought I'd show her my lab, some of my projects." She winked.

Natasha wrapped her arms around Sami's torso. "I'm just so excited to see your work," she purred. Her tone sent a shiver down Sami's spine. _Breathe, Wilson._

Aaron looked stricken. "Ma'am, you know I can't allow unauthorized personnel into the facility --"

Sami waved him off, allowing her gesture to continue on slightly longer than any sober person would do. "I know, I know, but the thing is..." she paused dramatically, "she's not unauthorized!" Impulsively, she planted a kiss on the crown of Natasha's head. "This glorious woman is visiting from Stark Industries!"

Natasha giggled. "Sami, Sami, Sami, that's supposed to be a secret!" She turned her best puppy dog eyes toward the guard. "But you won't tell anyone, will you?"

He swallowed visibly. "No, ma'am, I won't tell anyone you were here. Just let me confirm you're in the system, Ms. --?"

"Natalie," she provided, pulling out a plastic ID card. "Natalie Rushman."

"A gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl," slurred Sami. As Aaron busied himself looking up 'Natalie Rushman' in the system and comparing her to the photo on file, Natasha turn to Sami.

Her light blue dress shirt contrasted beautifully with her dark skin, while the darker blue of the jacket matched Natasha's dress perfectly (a Goodwill steal). For one second, as she reached for Sami's collar, Natasha didn't have to pretend to be smitten with the woman. "Let's make you a lil more comfy," she said lowly. She clumsily untied Sami's black tie, leaving it loose around her neck, and began undoing shirt buttons. One. Two. Three. Three seemed good.

Then, just to mess with the others, she leaned in to kiss Sami's sternum, now bared for all the world to see. As she pulled back, she caught a glimpse of the lipstick mark left behind -- bright red on dark brown. Sami let out a shuddering, involuntary breath; Aaron's jaw hit the floor.

Natasha smiled and plucked her ID card from his outstretched hand. "Thank you!" she smiled.

Sami's heart was beating at ten thousand miles per hour -- Natasha could feel the pounding pulse -- probably because she was aiding a fugitive break into her highly secure secret lab. Still, she had the wherewithal tilt her head so her ear was atop Natasha's head; at the same time, Natasha snuggled her head into Sami's neck. "And, dude?" the military woman said, "I wouldn't be watching the lab cameras too closely, if I were you."

She raised her eyebrows to hammer home her intended debauchery. Aaron flushed. Natasha and Sami staggered away, whispering and giggling and exuding lust.

* * *

As soon as the elevator doors shut, Sami pulled away from Natasha. "Do you think we sold it?" she asked nervously.

Natasha replied with a question. "Are there cameras in here?" When Sami nodded, Natasha continued, "With audio?"

Sami shook her head, and Natasha grinned devilishly. "Then we have to sell the hell out of it."

Immediately, she pushed the other woman up against the side of the elevator, in manner completely unlike what Steve had done to her earlier. Grabbing Sami's wrists, she pulled the woman's arms above her head. Her leg snaked out from the long slit in her dress to rest in between both of Sami's -- not touching her, but close enough that no one could see the difference. "You're a good actor," she whispered into her ear.

"Natasha," Sami near-moaned. _It's not acting._ The redhead laughed.

"Nat," she corrected. "I think we're close enough now."

"Nat," Sami repeated dutifully. "We're here," she exhaled.

_Oh. Right._ Natasha pulled Sami away from the wall of the elevator, interlocking their fingers. The lab lights flickered on as they entered the space.

It was cavernous. The floor was plain concrete, the walls bare metal, and the faraway ceiling looked to be exposed rafters. Shelves and draws of tools filled one corner, while another featured a huge workstation filled with monitors.

Sami used their intertwined hands to pull Natasha into her side. "This is where we can decode the drive," she murmured into Nat's ear.

"Let's put on a show, give the boys some time to grab the suits," Natasha reminded. Sami nodded.

"That voyeuristic dick won't know what hit him."

Grandly, Natasha pulled out the chair for Sami to sit in front of the computer. Sami sat, then cheekily patted her lap. "Only one chair," she pointed out.

"Plug it in," Natasha ordered, nonplussed, even as she perched upon Sami's legs. Sami reached her arms around Nat's waist to plug the flash drive in.

"Is now a bad time to mention that I can't touch type?" Sami muttered. She clumsily navigated the computer to access the flash drive. "Oh, interesting."

Natasha draped her arms around Sami's torso performatively. Toying with a braid, she asked, "What?"

"It's protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands... I didn't think that was possible."

"That's SHIELD for you." Natasha turned in Sami's lap so they were facing each other, essentially straddling her. "Can you override it?"

Heat rushed to Sami's face. "I -- The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me." She continued typing as Natasha removed the other woman's jacket, running her hands over her shoulders.

"Only slightly, I'm sure," Natasha purred. "Do you work out?"

"I do, thank you," Sami replied distractedly. "I can't hack this. I'm gonna try running a tracer -- we can't read the file, but maybe we can find out where it came from. It might take a minute."

"Let me know when you're done typing" was Nat's reply.

"Um, okay? I'm done... now."

With that, Natasha began nuzzling in Sami's neck. "Unzip my dress," she whispered. Sami made a barely-noticeable noise in the back of her throat, but began to comply. Soon Nat felt warm, callused hands shaking against the smooth skin of her back. "How much longer on the trace?"

Sami let out an unsteady breath. "Um, three, two -- New Jersey. Wheaton, New Jersey."

"Good job," Natasha whispered. Unthinkingly, she pressed her lips to the pulse point on Sami's neck. Her congratulatory move backfired, however, as she heard the familiar _clunk_ of plastic falling on the ground. She stilled. "You dropped the flash drive?"

"In my defense, what the damn hell was that?!"

"Did it break?" Natasha hissed, all business. _Never let feelings get in the way of the mission, you идиот [idiot]_.

"No." Sami paused. "Let go of me for a sec." Natasha obliged.

In one fluid motion she gripped Natasha's waist and stood, kicking the chair away. Smoothly, she dipped the redhead as if they were dancing, lowering her gracefully toward the floor. It would have worked, had her tractionless dress shoe not caught on the hem of Natasha's dress.

Together, they fell to the floor. The cold cement on her bare back made Nat long for Sami's warm touch. Sami had caught herself in a push-up position, hands on either side of Natasha's face. She gulped, losing herself in Nat's emerald eyes.

And then Nat's hand was fisted in her shirt, pulling her down, as the other gripped her hip as if there was no tomorrow. Sami crashed into Natasha with the inevitability of a wave meeting the shore.

Their lips met. Their bodies were pressed together, cloth on warm skin, fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. There was no space between them, just like there was nothing outside the two of them. All thoughts left Sami's head except Natasha... and the mission.

She brought one hand up to tangle into Nat's curls, the other scrabbling against the floor desperately. _The flash drive._

She gasped as her fingers found the flimsy plastic casing. Natasha took the opportunity to deepen the kiss -- not seeking permission but simply acting. "Nat," Sami moaned, pulling at Natasha's hair.

She couldn't abate the flood of disappointment that came when Natasha pulled away. "Did you find it?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah," Sami breathed. She stood, placing the flash drive in her pocket and offering Natasha a hand. She accepted, rising and zipping her dress in one fluid motion.

"Let's get out of here," Natasha said, and part of her almost meant the double entendre. She led the way back to the elevator, grabbing Sami's dress jacket from where it had fallen to the floor. The other woman had no choice but to follow, though she was still reeling from the kiss.

* * *

Natasha, still clad in her blue evening gown, sat wrapped in Sami's jacket in the front seat of the car. Her bare feet were crossed upon the dash and her chair was fully reclined (much to Sam's irritation). The rear-view mirror offered her a glimpse of the sleeping beauty next to Sam. "Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?" she asked idly.

"Nazi Germany," he replied. She hummed in acknowledgment, paying more attention to the world outside the window. "And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash."

When she acquiesced, Sam seized his chance. "While you're at it, scoot up a bit, will you?" Natasha just laughed in response.

"I'll move as soon as we get into something a little more comfortable," she retorted. Both men were wearing regular mission clothes, while Natasha and Sami were still in their undercover outfits.

"I don't know," Steve smirked, "I think the military wife look suits you."

"But in today's world, where's a girl supposed to find a nice, strong soldier?" The two military men laughed.

"So there's no one special?" Sam asked.

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "With a job like this?"

Steve understood. "Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience."

"Well, that's alright, you just make something up," Natasha said, thinking about Natalie Rushman.

"Is that what you do?" Sam asked.

She shrugged. "The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I."

"Tough way to live."

"It's a good way not to die, though."

Sam had no comeback to that, and soon he too fell asleep.

A few minutes later, Steve spoke. "You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is." The effects of what SHIELD had done would stay with him a long while. He was angry, and betrayed, and most of all, lonely.

But Natasha was not one for comfort. "Yeah. Who do you want me to be?"

"How about a friend?" Steve suggested.

She laughed softly. "Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers."

He gave a sad smile, and drove on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


	4. Chapter 4

_Wheaton, New Jersey_

Steve parked the car. He didn't have to sleep much, ever since becoming enhanced, so he didn't mind driving late into the night. Their antics had taken their toll on his companions, though: Sami's sleeping form had an arm slung protectively over Sam. Natasha was curled up like a cat, jacket pulled tightly around her.

He figured he might as well prepare before waking them. He grabbed the supplies from the trunk -- the stolen suits, his shield, street clothes for Sami and Natasha, and a bag of gas station snacks. Placing the former items in the driver's seat, he meandered around the surrounding area while munching on the latter.

The military base was dark and abandoned, but otherwise exactly how he remembered. He had worked so hard to get here. He could practically hear Sergeant Duffy: _"Pick up the pace, ladies! Let's go! Let's go! Double time! Come on Rogers, move it!"_ The place filled him with nostalgia.

Something odd caught his eye. A few buildings had changed, here and there; the barracks had certainly been updated. But right next door was a munitions building.

He returned to the car to wake up the others.

"This is it, huh?" Sam said. "I was expecting something... more."

Sami shrugged, not that anyone could see. She had ducked around a corner to change out of her dress uniform. "The files came from these coordinates."

"So did I," Steve said, crossing his arms. "This camp is where I was trained."

"Which is why you noticed the out-of-place building," Natasha said, returning to the group. She had borrowed a hoodie and jeans from Sami, but continued to wear the jacket she had stolen earlier in the evening. It _was_ rather chilly.

"Exactly. Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks." Steve smashed the lock with his shield.

They turned on the lights to reveal a large room filled with tables and row of filing shelves. "This is SHIELD," Nat said.

"Maybe where it started," Steve corrected. Exploring the large space, they split up. Steve and Sam end up in a room with some old framed portraits. "That's Stark's father, Howard," Steve pointed out.

"Who's the girl?" Sam asked, but Steve didn't reply. Instead, he walked further into the room and stopped by a massive bookshelf.

"If you're already working in a secret office..." Steve began. He pushed the bookshelf, which slid open to reveal an elevator. "Why do you need to hide the elevator?" Sam called for Sami and Natasha, and the four went down in the elevator to a room filled with old computers.

"Wow," Sami breathed. "This is, like, ENIAC-level equipment. Vacuum tubes and everything." She moved closer to the center control panel.

Natasha furrowed her brow. "This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient."

"No, wait," Sami said. "Look at this." A shiny silver set of USB ports gleamed in contrast to the dust covering the rest of the room. She pulled the flash drive from her pocket and inserted it.

All around them, the system whirred to life. An old-fashioned CRT monitor hummed and crackled right in front of Sami.

 _Initiate system?_ it read. _YES_ , Sami typed.

"'Shall we play a game?'" Nat quoted. Turning to Steve, she explained, "It's from a movie that..."

"Yeah, I saw it," he said.

"I love War Games!" Sami exclaimed. "I feel like a real hacker, surrounded with all this classic tech -- "

Suddenly, the computer began to speak. "Rogers, Steven. Born 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born 1984. Wilson, Sami. Born 1986. Wilson, Samuel. Born 1989." An old-fashioned video camera analyzed them, rotating as the computer spoke.

"It's some kind of a recording," Natasha said.

"I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am." The screen shows an old-timey photo of someone Sami doesn't recognize.

Sam crossed his arms. "Do you know this thing?" he asked Steve.

"Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years."

Zola spoke again. "First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."

"All, what, two gigs of it?" Sami muttered.

Steve ignored her. "How did you get here?"

"Invited," Zola replied simply.

Natasha explained. "It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value."

"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own."

"HYDRA died with the Red Skull. Everybody knows that," Sam said warily.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." The mantra echoed eerily in the dim basement. It had never felt so menacing.

Steve spoke. "Prove it."

"Accessing archive," the computer said. The screen began to play footage of Red Skull and of the original founders of SHIELD. "HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

 _No._ "That's impossible," Natasha countered, "SHIELD would have stopped you." If she had faith in anyone, it was Nick Fury and SHIELD.

"Accidents will happen," Zola replied mockingly. The screen showed clips of the murder of Howard and Maria Stark, as well as the recent assassination of Fury. "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum." Steve punched the screen, fracturing it into a million pieces.

But Zola simply appeared on another monitor. "As I was saying..."

"What's on this drive?" Sami asked.

"Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm."

"But what kind of algorithm?" Sami pressed. "What does it do?"

"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." Suddenly, the doors began to close, trapping them in the hidden basement. Desperately, Steve threw his shield, but too late. They were stuck.

For the first time, Natasha thought to check on their surroundings. Her SHIELD-issue phone was rife with alerts. "Guys, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops."

Sam swore. "Who fired it?"

Natasha met his eyes. "SHIELD."

Zola began to brag. "I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it's better this way. We're both of us...out of time."

Frantically, the four tried to come up with a solution. To maximize the protection offered by Steve's shield and the two pairs of wings, they needed a place to take shelter. "Here!" Sam cried. He tried to pull up the grate covering a big hole in the group. Steve ripped it up on the first try.

Natasha and Steve crouched back-to-back, a Wilson on either side. The shield was held on top to protect their heads, while the wings wrapped around the group to protect the vulnerable core.

The explosion was chaotic. The building collapsed around them, huge chunks of rubble impacting the wings and smaller debris finding its way between the four. The small hole in the ground filled with gritty dust, making Sami's eyes water uncomfortably.

When the initial explosion had passed and the group had checked themselves for injuries, Steve spoke. "We have to get out of here."

Natasha was already nodding. "They'll send Rumlow and the STRIKE team. He's bad news." Sami was mostly listening, but also looking with dismay at her distressed and battered dress jacket that Natasha still wore. _RIP._

The four heaved themselves out of the hole and, carefully navigating their way through the fiery remains, made their way back to the car. Thankfully, it was still intact, albeit grimy and dented.

Steve sighed. "Guess we won't be returning it."

* * *

It was Steve's turn to sleep on the ride home. Sam, too, was out to the world, leaving the two women to themselves.

Natasha was driving. Sami felt a pull toward the older woman; something was wrong. It was clear in the downturn of her mouth, the steady tapping of her fingers on the wheel, evident moreso in the way her teeth worried her lower lip. She didn't have to act at this moment. Sami wondered if she was seeing the real Natasha Romanoff, or if this was just another deception.

"Nat?" Sami asked. "You okay?"

The redhead nodded. "Yeah." She shifted lanes, looking over her shoulder to check her blind spot. Her fidgeting increased; her left foot was now tapping a quiet rhythm.

"What's going on?"

She sighed. "When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but..." She paused ruefully. "I guess I can't tell the difference anymore." _Oh._

Sami struggled to come up with a reply. _It's the intention that matters_ \-- they both knew that was BS. _I think you did the right thing_ \-- like her opinion really mattered. Nothing she could say would make HYDRA's deception hurt any less.

She finally settled on, "I'm sorry."

Natasha quirked an eyebrow, looking away from the road long enough to give Sami a questioning glance. "What are you sorry for?" she asked. Her confusion was genuine.

"I got you telling my lies," Sami said. "Breaking in to Fort Meade. I didn't mean to make you feel more..." she chose her next word carefully. "Conflicted."

 _That wasn't a lie_ , was what she wanted to hear. Sami couldn't stop thinking about the kiss -- the way Nat had taken charge, the way her curves had felt beneath Sami's own, the sweet taste of her lips. How stunning she looked with Sami's name on her lapel.

But Natasha waved her off. "Sami, if I couldn't keep my feelings separate from the mission, I'd be in the wrong business."

That hit Sami like a punch to the gut. _Oh._ Natasha really had been just keeping their cover. The kiss was part of the mission to her, nothing more, no matter how much it had felt like something real.

The car fell silent.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam woke up a few minutes later when Nat hit a particularly nasty pothole. "What's the play?" he asked groggily, stretching.

Sami thought for a moment. "I guess the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce," Natasha answered easily. "Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"Naturally," Sam grumbled. "But he's not working alone. Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

"With Jasper Sitwell." Natasha grinned, meeting Sam's eyes in the rear-view mirror. Any trace of vulnerability Sami had seen earlier was gone.

"So, then," Sami said slowly, "how do some of the most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"

Sam grinned wickedly. "You don't."

* * *

_Washington, D.C._

Sitwell had just finished a nice chat with Senator Stern when his phone rang. _Pierce._ He turned to his men. "I need a minute. Bring the car around." His men left and he answered the phone. "Yes, sir?"

"That'll be ma'am, to you," Sami replied. "How was lunch, Agent Sitwell? I hear the crab cakes here are delicious."

"Who is this?" Sitwell demanded.

"The hot chick in the sunglasses, your ten o'clock." Sitwell looked around but didn't see her. _Idiot._ "Your other ten o'clock." He turned the other way to see Sami, relaxing at a table fifty feet away. She waved, smirking. "There you go."

"What do you want?"

"You're gonna go around the corner, to your right. There's a grey car, two spaces down. My baby brother's gonna take you for a ride."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because that tie looks really expensive, and I'd hate to mess it up." Sitwell looked down at his tie to see a red laser aimed at his chest. _Oh, shit._

It felt like only seconds later that Steve threw him across the roof, Natasha stalking behind him. "Tell me about Zola's algorithm."

"Never heard of it," Sitwell sneered.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up, I get seasick." Sitwell refused to give in to the supersoldier's bullying.

Steve grabbed a fist full of Sitwell's shirt, forcing him to the edge of the rooftop. Sitwell just smiled confidently. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers."

Steve relented. "You're right. It's not." He paused, stepping back. "It's hers." Without hesitation, Natasha kicked Sitwell off the roof. He screamed as he plummeted toward the ground.

"Oh, wait." Natasha snapped her fingers. "What about that girl from accounting, Laura...?"

"Lillian," Steve corrected. "Lip piercing, right?"

Natasha nodded. "Yeah, she's cute."

Steve shrugged. "I'm not ready for that."

Their conversation was interrupted by the Wilsons, dressed in matching winged suits, flying up from the side of the building with Sitwell dangling between them. They dropped him unceremoniously onto the roof and landed. Steve and Natasha walked toward him menacingly; he put his hands up in fear. "Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets!" he cried.

"What targets?" Steve menaced.

"You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future." The team looked at each other.

"It extrapolates, makes predictions," Sami guessed.

Sitwell laughed. "Exactly. The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it."

Sami grimaced. "And Big Tech is only too willing to provide the data, am I right?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked Sami.

It was Sitwell that responded. "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."

"And then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list," Natasha stated. Horror was written all over Steve's face.

Sitwell nodded. "A few million at a time."

* * *

"HYDRA doesn't like leaks," Sitwell fretted.

"So why don't you try sticking a cork in it?" Sam retorted. He was driving their disheveled vehicle, while Sitwell sat behind him (Sam had moved his seat all the way back, just to cause the villain maximum discomfort).

Natasha, crammed in the middle of Sitwell and Steve, ignored Sam's barb. "Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here."

"I know," Steve said. "We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly."

"What?! Are you crazy?" Sitwell asked incredulously. "That is a terrible, terrible idea."

Before anyone could respond, there was a loud _THUNK_ as something -- some _one_ \-- landed on the roof of the vehicle. The Winter Soldier reached through the window, grabbed hold of Sitwell's neck, and threw him into oncoming traffic. Sami could only hope that the despicable man died on impact.

The Winter Soldier began shooting through the roof of the car, trying to kill them. Quickly, Sam engaged the emergency brakes; the car ground to a halt and the Winter Soldier was thrown onto the street.

Sami pulled out her gun and started shooting at the Winter Soldier. At the same time, Sam threw the car into reverse. They had made it less than 20 feet when a car hit them from behind with a crunch. The impact jarred the car's occupants, and before they could recover, the other car began pushing them forward.

The Winter Soldier charged toward them, jumping onto their car to rip the steering wheel from Sam's hands. "Shit!" he swore.

Natasha joined Sami in shooting at the Winter Soldier, but it seemed futile. The car behind them was pushing them to the edge of the overpass. Steve climbed out of the backseat onto Sami's lap, quickly tearing the passenger side door from the body of the car. "Hang on!" he yelled.

Together, they slid on the door along the highway -- Steve on the bottom, then Sami, then Natasha, with Sam on top. They moved to fast to really hang on; Sam rolled off almost immediately, certain he was going to end up with terrible road rash.

Sami and Natasha made it a little bit farther before the redhead pulled the other woman off of Steve. They rolled together on the ground before coming to a stop, Natasha atop Sami. "I think I like this better," she whispered, breath warm on Sami's cheek.

An explosion rang out further down the road. The women scrambled to their feet to see that the Winter Soldier had been joined by HYDRA agents atop the overpass, now shooting at Steve as the door slid to a halt. He used his shield to protect himself as he ran off in one direction. Sam flew from the ground to the top of the overpass, trying to recover the high ground.

"Help him," Natasha ordered. She took off running in the opposite direction from Steve, somehow having retained her gun in the escape from the car. She managed to hit the Winter Soldier in the eye, fracturing the glass of his mask.

As Sami flew overhead, she heard the Winter Soldier say something in Russian and saw him take off in pursuit of the redhead.

Sami took out two HYDRA agents as she landed next to her brother. She punched the agent who was heading for Sam's back, grabbed his rifle, and tossed it to Sam. "Cover Steve," she said. She grabbed a gun for herself and took aim at the road beneath the overpass. Steve was taking out soldiers using the ricochet off his shield, but not fast enough.

"Nat!" he yelled, pointing somewhere Sami couldn't see. She looked to her brother.

"Go, I got this!" he said, without pausing.

Sami soared in the direction Steve had pointed. An explosion sent waves of superheated gas to knock her out of the sky -- she dodged and rolled to keep her balance. Finally, she spotted Natasha atop the Winter Soldier's back. The assassin's arms were around his neck, but he threw her off. She began to flee, the Winter Soldier following.

"Oh boy," Sami muttered. She was about to do something stupid.

She tucked in her wings, using them to guide her rapid descent toward the ground. She aimed carefully, trying to estimate where her trajectory would intercept with that of the Winter Soldier. Right on target, they collided.

Natasha took the opening to get civilians to safety. "Get out of the way! Stay out of the way!"

She heard a strangled yell from behind her and whirled around, aiming her gun at the Winter Soldier. She watched him drop-kick Sami, and the woman went flying (and not in the good way) into a nearby car. The Winter Soldier grinned evilly and shot Natasha in the shoulder. She fell, and rolled to avoid the inevitable follow-through, but nothing came.

Steve jumped in between them, using his shield to attack the Winter Soldier. They exchange blows, each powerful enough to kill a regular person. The Winter Soldier got possession of Steve's shield and threw it at the hero, who dodged. It got stuck in a nearby van, and Steve grabbed it at the last second to smack the Winter Soldier upside the head.

His mask flew off, rolling on the ground. "Bucky?" Steve asked, shocked.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" the Winter Soldier growled. He drew another gun to begin shooting at Steve, but was stopped by the reappearance of Sam, who flew in and kicked him in the chest.

Bucky took aim again, but Natasha used the grenade launcher he had dropped earlier to fell him. Their attacker vanished in the smoke.

"Where's Sami?" Sam asked. The sound of sirens was the only reply. "Sami?!" he called, beginning to look around the rubble. Natasha went in the other direction, one hand clasped to her wounded shoulder. Steve moved in the direction he had seen the Winter Soldier -- Bucky -- kick her. He came face to face with her, handcuffed, Rumlow holding a gun to her head.

"Drop the shield, Cap!" he commanded. "On your knees!" When Steve failed to obey, Rumlow pistol-whipped Sami, causing her to cry out in pain. "Get on your knees! Now! Get down!"

Steve held his hands up. "Get down!" was the rallying cry of the soldiers surrounding him. He set down the shield.

"Down!" Rumlow hissed, kicking him in leg. Steve knelt. "Don't move." Another STRIKE team member, Rollins, pointed a gun to Steve's head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam and Natasha being handcuffed and frog-marched to the group. _It's over._

A helicopter sounded overhead. Rumlow looked at it, then ordered Rollins to lower his weapon. "Not here." Steve's relief was muted by the fact that his friends were still being threatened.

HYDRA took them into custody.


	6. Chapter 6

They were packed into the van like sardines. Sami and Steve sat facing Natasha and Sam, while two heavily armed guards sat perpendicular, watching for any attempt to escape.

"It was him." Steve looked despondent. "He looked right at me like he didn't even know me."

"How's that even possible?" Sam asked the question on everybody's minds. "It was like seventy years ago."

"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and..." Steve shook his head. He moved to put his head in his hands, but was restrained by the handcuffs behind his back. He slumped in his seat instead.

"None of that's your fault, Steve," Natasha said firmly. She had never been good at reassuring people, but she had also never seen Steve look so hopeless. She knew what it was like to live with guilt, and she would do anything to lift the undeserved burden from her friend's shoulders.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky," Steve muttered.

Sami stared at the woman sitting across from her (admittedly, the inside of the van offered limited options for where to look). She was paler than usual, her bright hair matted with sweat and... blood? It was hard to tell. Natasha was watching Steve fall apart, concern plain in the softness of her eyes, the tight purse of her lips.

They hit a bump in the road, jostling the occupants, and Natasha winced. That drew Sami's attention. Something was wrong. Probably something to do with the giant gunshot wound in her shoulder, that Sami had been too distracted to notice.

"We need a doctor here, now," Sami ordered, looking to the two guards. "We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck." The guards merely shrugged, the motion so slight she almost didn't believe her eyes. "Fine." She gritted her teeth. "This might hurt."

Sami's hand were handcuffed behind her back, the chain wrapped around a metal bar. She slid down the bench, toward Natasha, until her back was on the seat, the full weight of her body pulling on the handcuffs. _That's gonna leave a bruise._ Carefully, trying not to kick anyone in the face, she raised her foot to Natasha's shoulder, bracing herself as best she could to apply pressure.

Natasha winced, then put on a smirk. "I can think of better ways to put that flexibility to use."

"Gross!" Sam objected, leaning away from Natasha. "That's my sister!"

"She flirts when she's angry," Steve informed him, trying not to smile. "Last time the bartender messed up her drink, they ended up going home together." _Oh._ Sami felt very small, and foolish. Of course she wasn't special; Natasha was just flirty. End of story.

"I've got plenty more. Seems we'll be in this position for while." She winked at Sami, who tried and failed to keep the heat from rising in her cheeks.

"That won't be necessary, Agent Romanoff," said a familiar voice. Suddenly, one of the guards pulled out an electric rod and used it on the other. The guard collapsed, while the other pulled of their helmet to reveal their identity: Maria Hill. She exhaled, smiling widely. "Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain."

Sam was in his best defensive stance, given the handcuff situation. He looked at Hill, then at Steve for some hint of what to do. The supersoldier was grinning widely. "Boy, am I glad to see you."

"Yeah, yeah," Hill nodded, pulling out a ring of keys. "Who're Rufus and Doofus?"

"I'm saving a life, here!" Sami protested.

"And I'm very grateful for that, sweetheart," Natasha drawled. Sam, Hill, and Steve all groaned; Sami shot her an incredulous look. Natasha rolled her eyes. "I hate getting shot."

"Don't we all," Sam quipped.

Maria, having released everyone from their handcuffs, pulled out a small laser torch and began cutting through the floor of the van. "Time to blow this popsicle stand."

* * *

En route to their secret destination, Natasha grew paler and paler. She was loosing a lot of blood, and running so much wasn't helping. Steve offered her an arm, and it was a sign of how much she was hurting that she accepted.

A doctor met them at the facility, a dark and musty cement structure. "GSW. She's lost at least a pint," Hill ordered.

"Maybe two," Sami added. It had been a _lot_ of blood.

"Let me take her," the doctor said. Steve decoupled their arms, but Hill stopped him.

"She'll want to see him first."

The doctor assented, leading them to an area of the facility cordoned off by opaque plastic curtains. Hill pulled them open to reveal Nick Fury, alive and lying in a hospital bed. The quartet stared at him in shock.

lot"About damn time."

Having satisfied Natasha's desire to lay eyes on Fury, the doctor tried to lead her away. She protested vehemently, arguing that she wasn't going to leave him. The doctor finally agreed on the condition that she would take a break after she heard Fury's story.

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache," Fury listed.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," the doctor chimed in.

"Oh, let's not forget that." Fury smiled. "Otherwise, I'm good."

Natasha looked at him, voice steady in spite of the needle sewing the skin of her arm back together. "They cut you open, your heart stopped."

"Tetrodotoxin B," Fury explained. "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

Steve crossed his arms. "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?"

Hill answered. "Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful."

"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust." Fury motioned to Hill, who helped him out of the bed and over to a makeshift office that had been set up on the other side of the curtains. Steve remained standing as Natasha sat opposite Fury. Sam and Sami glanced at each other, unsure of the protocol, and stood at Steve's flanks, arms crossed.

Fury picked up a photo of Pierce. "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility.'" He dropped the photo in disgust. "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch," Natasha stated. Her arms were folded in front of her.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore," Fury deadpanned. He motioned to Hill, who brought forth a silver briefcase. Fury opened it, revealing three glass computer chips, each the size of a playing card.

"What's that?" Sam asked, leaning forward to get a better look.

"Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized," Hill began.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own." Fury tapped the case.

"One or two won't cut it." Hill made deliberate eye contact with each of the four. "We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

Fury grimaced. "We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..." He shook his head ruefully.

"We're not salvaging anything." Steve crossed his arms firmly. Natasha turned to look at him in shock. "We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD."

Fury lifted his chin ever so slightly. "SHIELD had nothing to do with it."

But Steve was angry. "You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed."

Steve stepped forward, leaning over to place his hands on the table. "And how many paid the price before you did?"

Fury didn't have a comeback for that. He knew he'd messed up -- if he's been more careful, more vigilant, none of this would have happened. He tried to calm the captain down. "Look, I didn't know about Barnes."

His statement had the opposite effect. "Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too?" Steve scoffed. "SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes." It was the only way.

The room was silent, the atmosphere tense. Hill was the first to speak, knowing she had the best shot at getting Fury to change his mind. "He's right," she stated simply.

Desperate for someone to be on his side, Fury looked to Natasha, the one who SHIELD had saved so long before. But she offered him no support. "I'm done telling your lies."

He looked past her to the Wilsons. Sam raised his hands in mock surrender. "Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower."

Sami was slower to respond, more deliberate in her words. "There's gotta be trust, Nick." The name felt foreign in her mouth. "It's been broken, and I don't think you're the one to repair it."

"Well..." Fury sighed. "Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

* * *

Natasha found Sami working on the wings. "Hey."

"Hey," the Black woman replied, not looking up from her tools. "How's the shoulder?"

"A little stiff, but not as bad as it could have been." She paused. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Sami still didn't look up, and an awkward silence filled the room.

"About earlier..." Natasha began. "You're new to this." Years of practice helped her to suppress the urge to tap her fingers at her side. Instead, her eyes roamed the room. Constant vigilance.

"You don't want me to take it personally." Sami rose from her crouch, wiping grease off her hands with a rag. "You flirt to keep people at arms length."

Natasha's heart sank, though the other woman had just stated the whole point of this conversation. She raised an eyebrow, her mouth contorting into a halfhearted smile. "Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable."

"Yes, they do." She watched Sami migrate from Sam's suit to her own, never looking up. _Angry, but not blaming me._ Natasha didn't know how to feel about that. Oh, she knew _exactly_ how she was _supposed_ to feel, but even she couldn't stop the guilt from settling in the pit of her stomach.

The mission hadn't required them to actually kiss. That was the truth of it. Natasha knew she could do it and get away with it, excuse it as selling their cover, and in a moment of weakness, she had given in to that instinct. Now she was correcting that mistake.

The flirting in the truck had been over-the-top, she knew. But it had the desired effect of getting Steve to relate her seemingly promiscuous past, effectively relegating Sami to only the latest target of her superficial affections. The other woman's cool responses were evidence that Natasha's ploy had been convincing.

Was it necessary? Natasha honestly wasn't sure. She felt something for the other woman -- the impulse to kiss her was evidence enough -- and such emotion was weakness. Love was a distraction and a vulnerability. She didn't even allow her fellow Avengers to see her true self; distance provided protection. In a business where uncertainty could kill, mere possibility posed a threat. She was doing the right thing by shutting this (whatever it was) down now.

"I just thought I should clarify." _In case you got the wrong idea_ , is what she didn't have to say.

Sami continued to wipe down the wings, with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary. "Message received."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor Sami! >:)


	7. Chapter 7

Breaking into the Triskelion was much easier than Sami had imagined. All it took was one punch from Steve to the satellite dish and a technician opened up the door, exactly as Natasha had predicted. Sami almost felt bad, holding the poor man at gunpoint, but didn't let it show. Stopping the launch of Project Insight was worth threatening one man.

They made it to what Sami took to be some sort of control room without incident. Hill showed Steve how to operate the PA system while the Wilsons stood ready on either side.

"Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth." He paused; Sami shot him a thumbs up.

"SHIELD is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them.

"I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. It always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it." He looked at Hill, Sami, then Sam. "But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

"Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?" Sam asked. Steve laughed.

Sam, Steve, and Sami made their way to the helicarriers, leaving Hill behind to be their man in the chair.

"Hey, Cap," Sami began, "how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?"

"If they're shooting at you, they're bad." Sami nodded; that seemed about right. She grinned at Sam and did a swan dive off the side of the building.

"She always this reckless?" Steve asked Sam.

"Not usually." He looked concerned for a second, then shrugged. "She's got a lot of faith in her abilities." He took a running start. "And so do I!" he yelled, falling out of sight. Steve shook his head. _These two._ He looked for a ladder to climb down to the helicarrier below, like a sane person.

Almost immediately after locating his target, HYDRA agents onboard the helicarrier began shooting at Sam. He dove to avoid them. "Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about!"

"You okay?" Steve asked as he took out two HYDRA agents.

Sam flew away from his helicarrier, getting out of range then banking sharply. "I'm not dead yet."

Sam's helicarrier was the furthest from the building. She came in low over the bow of the helicarrier, taking fire from a row of HYDRA agents. She took out all but one, who ran to hide behind a nearby crate. She landed gracefully on the deck. "I don't want to hurt you," she called. Pausing, she reconsidered. "Unless you're HYDRA, in which case I kinda do."

"Satellites in range at three thousand feet," Hill relayed. "Falcon, status?"

"Engaging." The person hiding behind the crate took advantage of Sami's brief distraction to throw something at her -- she didn't have time to identify it, but it was smoking, so she cursed and flew away, to the opposite end of the ship.

She passed more jets, which shot at her but continued past. "Sam, you've got incoming."

"Copy. I'm in," he said. The jets arrived at his location and began firing. "Spoke too soon!" He flew off to avoid getting hit.

"Eight minutes, Cap," Hill announced.

"Working on it," he grunted, fending off HYDRA agents to work his way inside the core of the helicarrier.

Sami dive-bombed the far end of the helicarrier, taking out two jets before they made it to the runway. She sped through the hangar door into the main room, where the server was located. She shot one agent, then used the wings to cover herself as she inserted the server blade. "Alpha locked," she announced as she exited the room, evading enemy fire.

"Great job, Egret. Falcon, where are you now?" Hill questioned.

"I had to take a detour!" Sam changed direction back toward his helicarrier, heat-seeking missiles hot on his tail. He dove at the last second, managing to lead them into the side of the ship. "Oh, yeah!" he cheered. "I'm in. Bravo locked."

"Two down, one to go."

Both Wilson siblings flew back toward Steve, wondering why he was having so much trouble. The answer became clear when the Winter Soldier stepped out of the shadows, sunlight gleaming off his metal arm. Firing at the SHIELD pilots, he jumped in a jet and took off.

"Charlie Carrier's forty-five degrees off the port bow," Hill updated. "Six minutes."

"Hey folks, I'm gonna need a ride," Steve ordered.

"Roger," Sam responded, searching the battle for Steve's star-spangled form, "Let me know when you're ready."

"I just did!" Steve yelled into the comms.

"There!" Sami pointed and dove, having faith in her brother's ability to follow.

Grasping Steve with one hand, Sami struggled to stay in the air. When Sam appeared to grab Steve's other side, they heaved him up onto the top of the last helicarrier. "You know, they're not designed to carry two people!" Sami scolded Steve.

Sam rolled his eyes. "She means you're heavier than you look."

"Sorry, Miss Wilson, I had a big breakfast." Sami laughed. Before she could respond, Bucky appeared and threw her brother off the edge.

"Sam!" she cried, turning to follow. The Winter Soldier grabbed her wing and pulled. Immediately, she lost her balance, stumbling toward the dangerous man. He wound up and punched her in the face -- once, twice, thrice. Taking a wing in each hand, he kicked her in Steve's direction.

The wings tore from their harness with an ugly grinding sound. Steve caught the bloodied Sami with one arm, instinctively raising the shield to protect them both from the following barrage of bullets. But what came next was some sort of rocket-launcher explosion, blowing them both off the helicarrier.

Thanks to his superhuman reflexes, Steve managed to catch both the slightly-conscious Sami and the edge of the helicarrier. Unfortunately, his limited number of hands meant that he dropped the shield.

He watched his only weapon fall, tightening his grip on Sami's waist. He wasn't sure how long he could hold them like this, or if he could get them back on top of the ship, or how he would manage to get past Bucky to install the server blade.

He could hear Bucky's heavy footsteps approaching his own scrambling hand. He braced for the inevitable stomp on his fingers -- but he was interrupted by Sam rising up from behind and hurling the shield like a Frisbee.

"That's for my sister!" he yelled. Bucky caught the shield, which Steve had expected. But the momentary distraction gave Steve the time to swing Sami's limp form away from the helicarrier. Sam, anticipating Steve's idea, had done a tight loop-de-loop to end up below Steve, taking his sister and freeing up the supersoldier's other hand.

Immediately, Sam began falling. He activated the parachute, trying to slow them down as they rapidly approached the SHIELD hangar. "We're safe but grounded," he reported over the comms. He turned to his sister. "Why does the parachute disable the suit, again?"

Sami opened her eyes slowly. Bucky's powerful punches had given her a black eye, and narrowly avoided breaking her nose, but other than her face, she was more or less unharmed. "To keep your dumb ass from flying with no backup," she said hoarsely. She got to her feet, brushing off Sam's attempts to help. She stretching, feeling the burn in her lower back where the Winter Soldier had kicked her (for the second time today). "Hill, what's going on inside?"

Maria hesitated before responding, knowing that Sami was injured and too stubborn to sit out the fight. But her dedication to SHIELD won out. "Rumlow's headed for the Council."

 _Natasha._ As embarrassing as their last conversation had been, Sami wasn't going to let personal drama stop her from saving her teammate. "On it," she wheezed. She looped an arm around Sam's neck. "Let's go, bro." She grinned at her own joke.

* * *

Once inside the building, the Wilsons split up. Neither knew their way around, but Hill did, and was very good at giving directions.

Sam had opted for the stairs, which was probably the more reasonable option given the state of emergency. Sami, knowing she would never make it up something like a hundred sets of stairs, took the elevator.

She had expected the elevator to be a contested area in the HYDRA/SHIELD battle, but to her surprise, it was deserted. The reason why became clear when she stopped on what appeared to be one of the main mission control rooms. The man who had called the elevator lay dead outside the doors. Past him, Sami could see part of a room filled with computers, technicians, and HYDRA agents -- distinctive because of their ruthless tactics.

Part of her wanted to stop here, and try to help; she could perform basic field medicine, probably take out some HYDRA goons. But Sam stopped her. "I've got Rumlow on 41," came over the comms. "Now's your chance, Sami."

"Roger," she replied, stepping back into the elevator to continue her journey upward.

"What? I'm a bit busy here," Steve grunted. Even injured, Sami couldn't help but laugh. Which hurt.

"One minute." Hill replied, voice tight. The elevator was on the opposite side of the building from the helicarriers, but Sami could see shadows of what was going on. She tensed as the last helicarrier continued its ascent. "Thirty seconds, Cap!"

"Stand by," Steve reported. "Charlie --" His message was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a haymaker to the jaw. Sami winced.

The helicarrier's shadow changed shape as its guns moved into position. Sami held her breath, rapidly pressing the button for the top floor in an effort to make the elevator arrive faster.

"Charlie locked." Steve sounded defeated.

"Okay, Cap, get out of there," Hill warned. The weapons on all three helicarriers were moving now, as Hill aimed them at each other.

"Fire now," Steve said.

"But Steve --"

"Do it! Do it now!" he roared.

The resulting explosions rocked the whole building. Just as Sami began to fear for the elevator's structural integrity, it finally arrived with a subtle ding.

Weapon in hand, Sami waited just inside the elevator, out of sight. If she was right -- and she usually was -- Pierce was gonna take the stairs up to the roof, where Hill said there was a SHIELD helicopter at the ready. A glance at the reflection in the elevator's glass confirmed that Pierce was heading for the door right next to the elevator -- Sami knew it was the stairwell because there was a helpful sign labeled "STAIRS TO ROOF."

Pierce walked backwards, keeping Natasha between himself and Fury. "This way, come on," he ordered, gesturing with the device in his hand. "You're gonna fly me out of here." He had some gizmo that threatened Natasha; that was why she wasn't fighting back.

Sami cursed internally. There was no way for her to shoot Pierce without hitting Natasha, too. Natasha, who had already been shot once today and lost a lot of blood.

Sami was reluctant to kill Pierce if it meant risking Natasha's life, perhaps due to some misplaced affection she still harbored for the woman. But Sami was certain that Natasha would want her to shoot anyway -- she treated her own life with blatant disregard.

She was running out of time.

Fury spoke from the other room, loud enough that Sami could hear him loud and clear, even in the elevator. "You know, there was a time I would have _taken a bullet_ for you." He was talking to Pierce, of course, but it was a non sequitur. Sami really hoped she hadn't imagined the slight emphasis to his words, or she was about to make a big mistake.

She took a deep breath, then stepped into the doorway of the elevator, firing two shots into Pierce's back in one fluid motion.

Both Pierce and Natasha fell to the floor, the device slipping from Pierce's grasp. Natasha swatted it across the room, out of his reach.

"Nice work, Wilson," Fury said, strolling casually in from the other room. Sami gaped at his nonchalance, until her training took over. She rolled Natasha onto her back, searching for wounds. Natasha groaned at the movement.

"Where - ?" Sami asked, ripping open the other woman's blue jacket. The front of her white shirt was pristine -- no holes.

Natasha chuckled gingerly. "Shoot me once..." She ripped open the top few buttons of her shirt to reveal a black bulletproof vest underneath. "Not bleeding, just bruised as hell."

Sami sagged in relief. "Oh, good."

"Unlike your face," Natasha continued. Sami frowned, touching her soon-to-be-blackened eye. Her fingertips came away stained crimson. She shrugged.

Pierce, meanwhile, had crawled in the direction of his gizmo. He wasn't making a ton of progress, and then Fury put a gun to his head. "Any last words?"

"Hail HYDRA," Pierce whispered, and then his head exploded.

"Let's go," Fury commanded, holstering his weapons and striding toward the "STAIRS TO ROOF" door.

Natasha rejected Sami's helping hand, following Fury with surprising grace. Sami rushed to keep up.

* * *

Sam was losing the fight. Rumlow was bigger, stronger, and better trained than Sam. He really hoped that Sami was having more luck than he was; he hadn't heard anything from her on the comms, which he attributed to her trying to sneak up on someone.

"You're out of your depth, kid," Rumlow snarked, parrying every punch Sam threw. Over Rumlow's shoulder, Sam watched one of the falling helicarriers approaching the glass side of the building. _Oh, shit._

He turned and ran in the opposite direction. Rumlow laughed. "Is that all you can take?" he taunted, and then the helicarrier crashed into the Triskelion, burying the HYDRA agent in the destruction.

Sam continued running, the building collapsing around him. "Someone tell me we've got that chopper in the air!" he yelled into the comms.

"Yeah, where are you?" his sister replied. He mentally sighed with relief.

"41st floor, northwest corner!"

"We're on it. Stay where you are."

Sam looked back. The building was falling apart faster than he could run. "Not an option!"

He made it to the end of the floor, taking a running leap through the huge window. He fell, no wings to catch him.

"There! There!" Sami called, pointing at her brother's falling form. The chopper door was already open and waiting.

"Yeah, I see him," Natasha grunted, pulling some crazy maneuvers to turn the helicopter sideways. Sam hit the floor of the helicopter hard.

"41st floor!" he said, sitting upright. "41st!"

"It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!" Fury responded.

"Hill, where's Steve?" Natasha asked, calmly flying away from the imploding Triskelion. "You got a location on Rogers?"

The four of them watched in horror as the last helicarrier fell apart, Steve's familiar form falling to the river among the debris.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam, Sami, and Steve met Fury at his grave. It wass very nice -- marble, with his full name and a Bible quote. Not the sort of thing Sami would have expected from the man, but very much what the outside world would accept.

"So, you've experienced this sort of thing before?" Fury asked Steve.

Steve didn't smile. "You get used to it."

"We've been data-mining HYDRA's files. Looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship." Fury spat on the ground. "I'm headed to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come."

Steve shook his head. "There's something I gotta do first."

Fury turned to Sam. "How about you, Wilson? Could use a man with your abilities."

He, too, shook his head. "I'm more of a soldier than a spy."

"And you, Wilson?" Fury asked, looking at Sami.

She stared into his eye. "We took down SHIELD for a reason, Nick."

"Doesn't mean there's not still work to be done."

"I just don't think you're the one to help me do it." Sami held her breath, hoping Fury wouldn't be too angry.

Looking only mildly affronted, he said, "Alright then," and shook hands with each of them in turn (Sami probably imagined that he was squeezing her hand with his full strength). "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here." He nodded at his gravestone and walked away.

Natasha appeared, taking his spot. "You should be honored, that's about as close as he gets to saying thank you." Sami laughed.

"Not going with him?" Steve asked.

"No."

"Not staying here?"

"I blew all my covers, I gotta go figure out a new one."

The conversation paused as each thought about what Natasha had done. All of SHIELD's intel was public. And that included Natasha's sordid past. It was a sacrifice with longer-reaching consequences than any injury in the line of duty.

"On your own?" Sami asked, tentatively.

Natasha's answering laugh was tinged with a hint of mockery. "Why, do you want to come?"

Heat rushed to Sami's face. She swallowed, steeling her nerves. "Yes."

That gave Natasha pause. She had been deliberately cruel to the other woman, had toyed with her feelings and embarrassed her, all to keep her at arm's length.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, her face carefully composed. "Why?" she asked, conscious of Sam and Steve. They didn't know what she had done to Sami.

"Because you're a hero," Sami said simply. "Not because you asked to be, but because of the cards you got dealt. And that makes you the bravest Avenger." She glanced to her left. "No offense, Steve."

"None taken."

"I'm going to be a hero, with or without your help. I'd prefer to learn from the best." Sami smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. There wasn't really a dignified way to say _'No matter how poorly you treat me, I'll come back for more.'_ "So what do you say?"

Natasha tilted her head to one side, considering. Her red hair shifted in the breeze. "Okay," she said finally, after what felt like an eternity. Her face remained neutral, hiding any trace of her inner turmoil. She turned to Steve. "That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev." He accepted the file she offered. "Will you do me a favor? Call that nurse."

"She's not a nurse," Steve corrected.

"And you're not a SHIELD agent." _Valid point._

"What was her name again?"

Natasha smiled. "Sharon. She's nice." She kissed him on the cheek, took a few steps, then paused. "Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread." She turned and left, tossing over her shoulder, "Are you coming or not, Wilson?"

Sami looked at Natasha's retreating form and grinned. She gave Sam a hug. "Take care of yourself," she reminded him. She saluted Steve. "Make sure you've got his back."

"Yes, ma'am," they responded in unison. Boys.

Sami hurried to catch up with Natasha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll see you in one week with the sequel :)

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a lot of firsts for me. I hope you like it! Comments, kudos, and feedback of any kind are highly encouraged :)


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